Welcome

Can You Crack the Enigma Code?
Richard Belfield

‘My book is a big-hearted celebration of codes, compiled by
artists, writers, killers and composers, that have stubbornly
refused to reveal their secrets over the years. You may not be
able to break these codes, but can you crack the Enigma puzzles
- all breakable with pencil, paper and skull work - that are
sprinkled throughout the book?’

Richard Belfield

Welcome to the official website for the Enigma puzzles in Richard Belfield's book, Can You Crack the Enigma Code? Here you can learn more about the puzzles in the book, meet the team who designed them, and keep up-to-date with the latest news on progress towards the puzzles' solution in our online discussion forums (the forum closed 31/1/14).

From the earliest days of civilization, people have sought to pass on secret messages using codes. For almost as long, cryptographers have tried to break them. Amongst the most celebrated were those at Bletchley Park who managed to break the Nazis' 'unbreakable' Enigma machine.

In his book, Richard Belfield looks at some of the most difficult and intruiging codes that have withstood years of investigation, and shows the reader some of the methods that they too can use to create and break codes. Sometimes, as with the notorious Zodiac Killer or the Voynich Manuscript, the codes remain unsolved, or, as with Kryptos in the CIA's headquarters, only partially decoded. Richard explains current theories and provides avenues for further exploration.

As part of the book, Richard invited a team of experts from the
Information Security Group at Royal Holloway to create a challenging
collection of puzzles. These 'Enigma' puzzles are designed to test
even the most experienced puzzle addicts.

The puzzles are all solvable using pencil and paper alone but
ingenuity and lateral thinking will be required. The prize: a
genuine Enigma machine, worth potentially tens of thousands of
pounds.

By following the links on this site, you can meet the design team - perhaps their biographies will give you some insight into how the puzzles were constructed? Or you can participate in the puzzle discussion forums, sharing your progress with other competitors. From time to time, additional clues may be published on this site to help solvers make headway. There's also a list of events associated with the book, where you will be able to meet the author and some members of the puzzle design team.

The full rules for the puzzle competition, and the puzzles themselves, can be found in Richard's book.

Good Luck.

Please note the Enigma Puzzles have now been solved and the competition has closed. Please see here for futher information.

Can You Crack the Enigma Code?
Published by Orion on 28th Sept 2006 HB 0 75287 526 4 -
£18.99